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Friday, February 28, 2014

Golden Agriculture stock announced its quarterly results after trading hours today. The result was Golden at last, befitting the name of this stock: Golden Agriculture stock fourth quarter profit more than doubled year-on-year. Golden Agriculture also announced a dividend of $0.00515 per share. I watch the results of Golden Agriculture stock closely as it is one of my commodities stocks in my portfolio. As we know commodities stocks do not perform well in year 2013, hence I believe investors who are like me vested in stocks like Golden Agriculture stock will want to see their stock prices head north.

I did a quiz on a topic which has nothing to do with investments after partaking in lots of text presented on presentation slides and the result was that I failed the quiz. So what does my result of the quiz tell of my mental prowess? Well, if we judge (my results) based on our local standards, it will mean that my mental prowess is not strong and that I am not a very clever person though my academic records will say that I am excellent when it comes to Mathematics and Science. Well, I am not disheartened at my failing score, I believe the most important thing in life is to keep asking “Why” and also the “How” and hence for my not so good score in the quiz, I asked myself why I failed the quiz? I mean knowing the “why” is much important than knowing the “what”. This principle similarly applies to investing. If we do not do well in an investment, rather than looking at how much percentage points we are below cost (of our investments), we should ask ourselves why in the first place do we make the investment and how could we do better in our future investments?

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

As an avid investor, trader and reader, I read financial magazines, financial
newspapers and articles both online and offline regularly. Recently, I observed a
common theme running across many of the articles which I read and that common
theme is none other than the very fundamental but important question of where to
put and grow your money in this current time.
I believe the aforementioned question is always important but it is all the more most
timely now to ask ourselves this question if we want to grow our monies.

Monday, February 24, 2014

Today is Monday. I am not sure about you but I think for most working persons, Monday is a boring day else the phrase “Monday Blues” would not have been coined. To me, I would liken the working week of Mondays to Fridays as a SOC (“Standard Obstacles Course”) of my army days. Mondays to me are like the first obstacle of the SOC: the low wall: we have to jump, climb up and “conquer” the low wall before we can get to the last obstacle: the ramp which to me in this analogy describe Fridays. The afternoon of Fridays would be when we figuratively “conquer” the ramp and pick up whatever is left of our energy to run the few kilometres towards the finishing point.

Sunday, February 23, 2014

If I have a word of money management advice to all readers, I have this to pro-offer:
please track your expenses (like me). If possible, categorize and record all your
spendings on an Excel spreadsheet and you will really see how much you spend in a
month!
From my own experience, unless you are a successful entrepreneur, trader or a
great salesman, if you are like me, in a full-salaried employee, earning an average or
some will say "lesser-mortal" pay, I think it will really be very difficult to earn a
significant sum over and above your monthly income.
Hence you may want to cut down your expenses so that you will have more to save
and to invest, multiplying your savings many times (if you are successful!).

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Noble Group stock headed by 4.1% on 20 February 2014. With Noble Group going to announce its financial performance on 21 February 2014, I knew that the 4.1% of Noble Group stock gained on 20 February 2014 was most likely a false breakout. I mean there were no news or other announcements which could specifically catalyse this great stock performance in Noble Group. I was correct: yesterday, Noble Group stock retreated 3.9% on closing and this was not even after the earnings results of Noble Group was announced. The earnings results announcement of Noble Group came after stock markets closed and the results were disappointing to investors: Noble Group’s net profit attributable to shareholders fell to US$243.5 million, from US$471.3 million in year 2013.
Sembcorp Marine closed 1% higher yesterday.

For most employees, the main source of their income will be
one that is derived from employment and hence it is still important for one to treat his
career as a form of investment by investing in his career.

Friday, February 21, 2014

I know most of us want to be rich. Most of us want to be a millionaire. Most of us want to be financially-free. Most of us aspire to be wealthy so that we can then choose not to work and to spend more time with our family and to pursue our interests. With increased wealth, we can then provide a better level of material comfort for ourselves and for our families. Most of us have this aspiration but not many people become millionaires or financially-free as most of us do not have a plan to achieving financial freedom. Even if one has a plan to do so, one must really get out of the comfort zone and act.

What does Singapore 2014 budget mean to you? I will view the Singapore 2014 Budget from the perspectives of both an ordinary Singaporean and a retail investor. As an ordinary Singaporean, I welcome rebates in service and conservancy fees (i.e. those town council fees), utilities rebates as well as some incentives for property taxes. I pay more than $50 monthly in town council fees and I find the fees on the high side. It also does not help that our country is experiencing a spell of hot and dry weather which means that most of us would need to switch on the air-conditioners at night, use more electricity to boil more water, etc. As with previous budgets, I think there will be some incentives in the form of rebates for most of us.

Thursday, February 20, 2014

I know the Singapore stocks markets do not perform good today (20 February 2014). Singapore stocks markets’ performance today mirrors that of the US stocks markets, in response to leads overseas like the release of minutes of the Federal Reserves Open Market Committee (i.e. FOMC meeting). We must take the movement of our Singapore stocks in our stride as we must know that markets are dynamic in nature and we should not expect the Singapore stocks market to go up and up every time. Anyway, like what I always say, the Singapore stocks markets are measured by the STI but the STI is not representative of the entire Singapore stocks markets. The STI is just a basket of constituent stocks.

Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Biosensors International Group stock resumed trading this morning. I believe many investors including myself are looking forward to the plan of the buying out of Biosensors International Group and the exit offer. But there was no such announcement. It really leaves one to wonder what is next for Biosensors International Group stock?

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Looking at the performance of the Singapore stocks today (18 February 2014), I would like to think that the Singapore stocks are consolidating. It is anyone’s guess as to whether the consolidation will lead to stocks rallying up or heading south next. But from my observation, it is still better for investors who have not put their monies in investments for year 2014 to sit on the fence and observe the broader macro-economies of the US, Europe and China first. A foreign report which I have read suggested that Singapore stocks markets have become bearish as the technicals have gone down some important fundamental support levels; I am not sure how accurate this report is, but my word of advice would be for retail investors to stay nimble, look out for good investing opportunities while not being greedy.

Biosensors International Group stocks jumped 14.4% today to close at $0.995 after it was said that Citic Private Equity may want to buy the whole company. Biosensors stock requested for a trading halt today. Indeed today is one of the days which shareholders have been looking forward to as talks of a privatisation of Biosensors International Group have been going around for quite some time as this once-promising mid-cap stock once trading at $1.675 in February 2012 went almost 50% south to close off at $0.87 yesterday.

Many people in Singapore are suffering from hair loss. I am also suffering from hair loss but I have no real gripes about hair loss as I am already old and I have seen many people younger than me having hair which is thinner or these people are balding. I think being Healthy, Peaceful and Happy are the most important in life. I know this is an unconventional post but since most of us (I think) are experiencing some form of hair loss to some degree and most of us want to be rich and wealthy, I have integrated these two topics into a post which I hope is useful to you.

Monday, February 17, 2014

Singapore Stocks are doing quite okay after what we have seen in January 2014. The question on the minds of investors is whether it is time to enter into the stock markets. Some analysts say that the forecast for Singapore stocks is still more towards the south than a good stocks rally. Indeed it is not that easy to tell how Singapore stocks are shaping up. During the times when Singapore stocks were not performing well in January 2014, I took the opportunity to load up on OCBC stock and Sembcorp Marine stock and I am happy that both counters are now above my cost.

Sunday, February 16, 2014

I read of a concept called Social Investment or Social Insurance in a news
article. The article talked about having a career as an investment and this
week, it dwelled on having personal networks and contacts as a form of investment
or insurance.
Well, actually this concept is not new to me as personally, I have really thought that
Life is more about making money and when one uses the term Investment to define
something intrinsic as family or relationships, it does not really go down well with me
as investments are mainly defined in two commonly-known parameters: risks and
returns.
Would you want to base your family or social relationships on returns?

Saturday, February 15, 2014

I visit the Singapore Airshow 2014 on a hot day. There are many aircrafts displayed on a vast piece of open land.

The aircrafts span from military to commercial and they hail from many different countries. I feel proud once again as a Singaporean as though our country is a small country, we still are able to host international and regional events on a large scale in various arenas like the World IMF, the Youth Olympics, the South East Asia Games, the F1 Night Race and many more.

Having some free time today, I went to pick up some notes which I have drafted from
a financial book some years ago onto my notebook. The financial book was authored
by a famous Singapore millionaire investor. As I am a person who embraces self development,
I like to continuously read and improve myself in various aspects of
life.

Friday, February 14, 2014

I read a report on how to earn a million dollars from the Singapore stocks markets, authored by a leading authority of the Singapore stocks scene. The techniques in the book are what I have known: time-honoured simple investing and mathematical rules which require discipline, wisdom and patience from investors. The principle is simply to buy good stocks which appreciate over time and which give a good dividends rate, re-invest the dividends and keep investing in the stocks yearly.

Thursday, February 13, 2014

There are proposals to change the CPF contribution rates for employers and employees and this proposal was raised by the NTUC. While generally financial news like this should be quite interesting to me who am a person with a keen passion for growing his monies, I just glanced through the article. As far as I am concerned, when it comes to CPF monies, I am quite nonchalant. I mean if the rates are increased, remain the same or head south; I just have to take it (the CPF) as it is.

Wednesday, February 12, 2014

I bought some Sembcorp Marine stocks. This is my second foray into the Singapore stocks markets after my purchase of OCBC stocks for the year. Singapore stock markets turned quite choppy on the first day of Chinese New Year 2014 against the backdrop of US Federal Reserves tapering and talk of the emerging markets’ economic situation. The Singapore stocks markets headed south and now our local markets seem to be going up, albeit slowly. I see this whole episode as one of the opportunities to pick up good stocks trading at attractive valuations. The first stock I picked up was OCBC and you may want to read my earlier post on my motivation for buying the stock.

The Singapore stocks markets are heading up if we can conclude from the direction of the STI, though the STI is pretty much, just a representative of the Singapore stocks markets (I mean it depends on which stocks you have or are intending to buy). I believe the question on the minds of many retail investors is that whether the Singapore stocks markets and the STI have “bottomed out” and whether it is time now to enter the market and buy some Singapore stocks, especially those better stocks which look attractive now?

Tuesday, February 11, 2014

There will be a $10 Million TOTO Draw on 14 February 2014, have you bought the tickets? For a minimum of $1, one can buy a ticket with two sets of six numbers per set. Each set of number will give you one in over eight million chances of winning the highly-coveted $10 million dollars! Usually when it comes to such draws featuring this attractive prize amount, there will be more than one winner. But even if there are ten winners, each winner will walk away with one million dollars which is really a good sum of monies to have.

Monday, February 10, 2014

A friend of mine talked to me recently that he is still looking out for that multi-bagger stock in the Singapore Stock Market. I think I do not need to define what a multi-bagger stock is as you can see one of such stocks in the top volume stocks on the SGX these weeks. Stock like Rowsley has its price “multi-bag” after chased hotly by investors.
I agree that multi-bagger stocks are like hidden gems in the stock market, waiting for investors to identify and realize their value to what they are truly worth or even beyond.

Sunday, February 9, 2014

I read an article before on a Financial Analyst who became financially free at the age of 32. It was revealed that he saves 70% of his income.
When I learnt of this figure, I was quite surprised that he could save so much of his salary as average men are not able to save this proportion without compromising a reasonable standard of living.
After thinking, I believe that the financial analyst is able to save 70% of his income mainly due to the fact that he earns a high income and secondly, he leads an average lifestyle despite earning a high income and these two factors combine to give him a saving portion of 70% of his income.

Saturday, February 8, 2014

I believe we should eat good food during Chinese New Year as ensuring our stomachs are full and eating good meals during Chinese New Year are in my belief, auspicious as it means we will also eat good food for the new Chinese New Year too.

For the first day of the Chinese New Year of the Wooden Horse 2014, I snacked on some of the many titbits as my lunch and that was enough to fill my stomach. For dinner, my family and I went out to have our dinner. As I have shared with you in my earlier posts, most of the cafes and restaurants were closed for the first day of the Chinese New Year, and hence I have set my mind that I would eat KFC crispy chicken as I was sure that KFC would open during Chinese New Year. I am right and hence you could see the two crispy pieces that I had for the first day of the Chinese New Year.

SGX will be implementing some reforms to the Singapore Stocks Markets while consulting the public on further proposed revisions. Let us take a look in more details of some of these:

Measures with effect on 3 March 2014:

1. SGX will issue "trade with caution" warnings on stocks showing unusual trading activity that the companies aren't able to explain.
Proposed measures by MAS and SGX for public consultation

1. Setting a minimum trading price on stocks listed on the SGX mainboard, say to be at the indicative level of ten to twenty Singapore cents; currently an estimated 130 to 230 stocks are trading below this proposed minimum trading prices

2. Requirements for stock brokers to collect a minimum amount of collateral from clients, worth at least 5% of customers' open trading positions

Friday, February 7, 2014

Many Thanks for supporting my blog! All along I have been sharing with you my experience investing and trading the Singapore stocks markets. While I am happy in my sharing, I have been thinking all along during my blogging journey that you readers may even have more valuable experience in investments or trading than myself. Hence after much thinking, I was thinking why not you readers share with all of us your experience in investments too? Collectively, we will glean much more valuable insights in trading and experience from one another!

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Today, I bought some OCBC stocks as the STI headed north by 0.95% and OCBC stocks rebounded by 1.8%. I have been thinking about entering the markets to buy OCBC stock ever since the stock went south following talks that the bank is trying to acquire Wing Hang bank in Hong Kong. I think besides this news about the acquisition of Wing Hang bank, the sell-off in the Singapore’s and regional stock markets also contributed to the southward direction of OCBC stocks.

I read that Lotte Shopping has won the approval to list on SGX. I am not that familiar with Lotte Shopping, hence, as I read the newspapers today (5 February 2014), I understand that Lotte Shopping is actually a retail company which is based in South Korea and has the presence of retail shopping malls in South Korea. I have not been to South Korea and hence I could only think what the retail shopping malls over there may look like.

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Looking at how the US stocks performed on the night of Tuesday 5 February 2014 (Singapore Time), I know that the STI would stage a rebound on Wednesday 6 February 2014 and I am right! With this thinking, I opened up my notebook last night when most of the working executives in Singapore were preparing to sleep. I looked at my list of the names of the stocks which I am interested in. I have prepared the names of these stocks through research and analysis, taking into not only the fundamentals and technical but as well as how the stocks are performing. I mean, I am confident in these stocks which I consider good, however as I know, knowing when to buy these stocks is the other half of the winning equation. With the recent market “southward movement”, I decide that I may want to buy these stocks soon.

The Edge Singapore has compiled and published its list of Top Ten Singapore Stocks for Year 2014. After many brokerage firms have given their recommendations on the stocks to buy for year 2014 at the start of year 2014, I am surprised that The Edge has also its own recommended list of stocks for year 2014; I mean now is February 2014.

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

I think most investors know how the Singapore Stocks Market is performing; hence I do not want to comment too much about it. I mean while some investors are looking at possible opportunities in the Singapore stocks markets, there are some investors which I think have put some of their hard-earned monies into some stocks before what we see in the global markets now, hence their cashes are so-called “locked out” in these stocks and any liquidation of their portfolios would result in them getting non-profits.

Monday, February 3, 2014

The STI went south to 2,990.95 which is below the psychological benchmark of 3,000 today. While the valuation of some good stocks look attractive, I feel that this is not the time to buy into them. To be frank with you readers, I was quite tempted to buy into some good stocks after the performance of Singapore stocks markets last week. But I really practised discipline by not giving in to my emotions as the signal from the trading charts which I am looking at have not turn into a “Buy” signal , thus I have not entered the markets with the liquidity which I have cashed out before the US markets went south on 25 January 2014.

Sunday, February 2, 2014

I am heartened to receive a compliment from a Singapore Stocks reader in my inbox yesterday. The reader shared that he has been following my Singapore Stocks blog for about a year and he has found my sharing useful. I am happy to receive another of these compliments from readers as a compliment attest to the fact that I am creating value from my blog to the readers.

Saturday, February 1, 2014

We visit friends and relatives when it is Chinese New Year. Between visits, we will likely have our meals at coffee shops, cafes or even restaurants. Most of these eateries are closed when it comes to Chinese New Year though not all stalls do so.

There were few previous occasions which I could recall that I patronise one of the not many stalls which still opened during Chinese New Year. So what I experienced then was really, in my thinking something to do with the fundamentals of economics.